Churchtown Primary School

Inspection of Churchtown Primary School St Cuthbert’s Road, Churchtown, Southport, Merseyside PR9 7NN

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 13 and 14 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this welcoming school. Relationships between pupils and staff are ones of mutual respect. This helps to create a positive and trusting atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils live up to these expectations, develop into well-rounded citizens and achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exceptional. Staff model and expect the highest standards of behaviour from all pupils. Pupils are polite and courteous and they show ‘respect for all’. They conduct themselves maturely in class and around school. If bullying does happen, incidents are dealt with well by leaders. Pupils know that staff will always help them if they need it. This helps pupils to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils, including pupils with SEND, are offered a wide range of extra-curricular experiences. These include clubs such as chess, drama, choir, dance and boccia. Pupils play together fairly at breaktimes when competing in different sports.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about the importance of being active citizens in their community. For example, pupils are proactive in looking after the planet and they have recently organised a local beach clean-up. Leaders have established strong links with organisations within the local community. These links help to enhance further opportunities for pupils’ wider development.

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better?

Leaders have created a curriculum for pupils that is ambitious and meaningful. Subject leaders work collaboratively and successfully with colleagues across school. This has helped them to better understand progression in the curriculum from the early years to Year 6.

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better?

In many subjects, leaders have thought carefully about the key knowledge that they want pupils to learn and in which order. In these subjects, pupils can build on earlier learning well and they acquire a deep body of knowledge over time. However, in a small number of subjects, leaders have not finalised the knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which some content should be delivered. This hinders some pupils’ learning in these subjects.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and they deliver the curriculum well. Leaders have provided teachers with extensive training, especially in relation to providing support for pupils with SEND. This has helped staff to identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly. Pupils with SEND have access to the same curriculum as their peers. Leaders work with many specialists who help to provide effective, targeted support for pupils with SEND if needed. 13 and 14 June 2023

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Teachers present learning clearly to pupils. They design appropriate activities so that pupils can practise, secure and deepen their learning. In the main, teachers use assessment strategies well to check that pupils have a secure understanding of earlier learning. However, in a small number of subjects, leaders have not agreed on the approaches that teachers should use to assess pupils’ learning. This means that teachers are hindered in making checks on how well some pupils learn the curriculum.

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Teachers were full of praise for the level of support that they receive from leaders. Leaders are mindful of staff’s workload and well-being.

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Leaders ensure that reading is prioritised by staff. Children in the early years develop a love of reading from the outset. Reading books are carefully selected by leaders and are plentiful. Older pupils have a wealth of knowledge in relation to their favourite authors and the types of books that they like to read.

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Phonics is taught from the moment that children start school. The books that they read allow them to practise the sounds that they have been taught. This helps them to become fluent readers over time. Pupils who struggle to read, or those who fall behind, receive appropriate, additional support from staff. These pupils are identified quickly by leaders and almost all catch up with their peers.

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Staff establish effective routines from the early years that prepare children for future learning. Pupils value their education. They demonstrate highly positive and mature attitudes to learning. Most pupils show high levels of self-control and they persevere when faced with challenges. If pupils struggle with their behaviour, staff provide effective, personalised support. Low-level disruption is very rare.

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The programme to foster pupils’ wider development has been thoughtfully put together by leaders. Pupils learn about how to stay physically healthy and to look after their own mental health. They learn about different types of worries and how to deal with them. Teachers encourage pupils to be aspirational. Older pupils carry out their roles as prefects diligently. Leaders have forged strong, purposeful links with local colleges and universities. This helps pupils to become better informed about their options for the future.

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Trustees and the local governing board are well informed about leaders’ priorities. They share leaders’ passion and commitment to nurturing and inspiring pupils. Governors provide leaders with necessary challenge and offer expert support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including trust leaders, provide regular safeguarding training for all staff. This helps staff to identify those pupils who may be at risk of harm. Staff know how to report and record safeguarding concerns appropriately. Leaders are vigilant and 13 and 14 June 2023

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act upon any concerns quickly. They work effectively with a range of relevant safeguarding agencies.

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Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn about online risks, including the reliability of online content and fake news.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not finalised their curriculum thinking. This means that teachers are not sufficiently clear about the building blocks of knowledge in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that teachers have a secure understanding of the knowledge that pupils should gain. This is so that they can design learning that will help pupils to know more, remember more and deepen their understanding of concepts over time.  In a small number of subjects, teachers are not as confident in using assessment strategies to check on pupils’ understanding of key knowledge. This prevents staff from identifying and addressing some pupils’ misconceptions in a timely manner. Leaders should develop further their approaches to assessment to ensure that staff use assessment strategies well in these subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 13 and 14 June 2023

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School details

Headteacher Christine Adams (Executive headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Churchtown Primary School converted to become an academy school in February 2019. When its predecessor school, Churchtown Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  This school is part of the Endeavour Learning Trust.  A new executive headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection.  Leaders do not use any alternative providers for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the executive headteacher and members of staff. 13 and 14 June 2023

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 The inspectors met with members of the local advisory committee, trustees and two chief executive officers of the trust.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding. Inspectors also spoke to staff about safeguarding and their workload and well-being.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school, in class and in the outdoor play areas.  The inspectors spoke with parents as they dropped their children off at school. They considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire, including the free-text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  The inspectors conducted deep dives into early reading, mathematics, English, physical education, art and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to

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teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  The inspectors listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.

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Inspection team

James Marsh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

John Tomlinson Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 June 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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